METAL HEART
by Maria Haruka Takino
Summary: (My Life As A Teenage Robot) Jenny has no software that explains romance, and she becomes confused and unsure when Brad kisses her at school. Then, Mrs. Wakeman says she doesn't love Jenny! Jenny runs away and faces the worst enemy of all time.


"METAL HEART"  
  
Chapter One: BOOM.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jenny stood there as Brad walked away. What had that been all about? Feeling confused, Jenny simply turned and walked out the doors of her high school.  
  
Why had Brad just pressed his warm, human lips on Jenny's cold, metal ones? Was this some of kind of strange human greeting? Jenny figured Mrs. Wakeman might know, but she wasn't sure. After all, Brad had never done this strange ritual to Jenny before.  
  
Jenny finished her homework as she soon as she got home and then slowly and quietly entered Mrs. Wakeman's lab. She just had to ask.  
  
"Hey, mom," said Jenny calmly. Mrs. Wakeman jumped, let out a yell and spilled whatever chemical she had been working with all over the floor. The chemical liquid slowly disappeared and revealed a large, black burn on the floor.  
  
Mrs. Wakeman sighed, deeply annoyed. "XJ9, I cannot remember how many times I have told you not to disturb me while I am working down here! I-"  
  
"You've told me 37 times, mother," Jenny calculated.  
  
Mrs. Wakeman heaved another sigh. "What was it you wanted?"  
  
"I wanted to ask you something about humans," Jenny started uncertainly. She suddenly had this gut feeling that telling her mother would only make things worse.  
  
"...Very well, continue..." said Mrs. Wakeman slowly. She could see a nervous look in Jenny's eyes.  
  
"Today in school, just after the bell rang, Brad did something really weird...he got really close to me and...put his lips on my lips. Is that some kind of way of saying hello?"  
  
Mrs. Wakeman's eyes widened. For a moment, she just stood there, saying absolutely nothing. Then-she burst out laughing.  
  
"What's so funny?" Jenny asked, looking at her mother strangely.  
  
"I-I thought you said that Brad actually kissed you! Now really, what did you want to ask me?" said Mrs. Wakeman, still chuckling.  
  
"Kissed? Is that what he did? What does that mean and what was it for?" Jenny asked, becoming annoyed.  
  
Mrs. Wakeman stared at XJ9. Mrs. Wakeman had never installed any program that would allow Jenny to understand romance. Jenny's mother sat there in silence for a moment, then-  
  
"WHAT!?? I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU, XJ9!!! You're purpose was to defend earth, NOT GO AND KISS SOME BOY!!!"  
  
"But I didn't-"  
  
"YOU ARE NOT A TEENAGER; YOU ARE A ROBOT, FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!!! YOU WERE DESIGNED TO FIGHT CRIME, NOT FALL IN LOVE OR BE LOVED BY HUMANS!!!"  
  
At this Jenny fell silent with a horrified look on her face. "You mean...?"  
  
Mrs. Wakeman realized what she had said instantly. "I didn't mean it like that! I just meant..." Mrs. Wakeman trailed off. What had she meant?  
  
"So...so....so what you're saying is...you don't....you..." Jenny trailed off as tears from the water tanks behind her eyes slowly slid down her metal cheeks.  
  
"XJ9, of course I love and care about you! I only meant-"  
  
"I know what you meant," said Jenny, her misery turning to anger. She blasted off through the ceiling, soaring off into the night sky.  
  
"XJ9, wait!!" called Mrs. Wakeman desperately. She wished she could have taken back what she had said. She sighed and looked away from the sight of a young robot teenager flying away into the stars.  
  
~*~  
  
Jenny couldn't understand what she had done to deserve this. Why had her mother exploded at her like that? What did Brad's "kiss" mean? And did Mrs. Wakeman really mean that humans were not meant to love her?  
  
Jenny knew what love meant, but she didn't understand how people other than her mother could show her love. She slowed down when she reached Brad's house. She felt a great need to talk to him. She quietly landed in Brad's front yard and stood there for a moment, silent tears falling down her cheeks.  
  
"Jenny," a quiet voice said, "is that you?"  
  
Jenny raised her head to see Brad walking towards her. He, too, had apparently been outside and staring at the stars and moon.  
  
"Jen...are you okay?" Brad asked awkwardly.  
  
"Well...I didn't understand what happened today...so I asked my mom about it...and...she pretty much said that she didn't......love me...." Jenny choked on the last two words and a fresh, thicker river of tears ran down her cheeks.  
  
"What happened today that you didn't understand? Was it when Brit and Tish tried to stick gum on your hair?" Brad asked, confused.  
  
"No, Brad....it was what you did. Mom called it....a 'kiss'....." Jenny said quietly.  
  
Brad felt his cheeks redden. "Well....what....d-didn't you understand?" Brad stuttered, embarrassed.  
  
"I don't even know what a 'kiss' is or what it means. Mom blew up at me when I told her....." Jenny stared at the ground.  
  
"I'm sorry, Jenny," Brad blurted out. "You should have just asked me....I never should have done it in the first place," he was angry, not at Jenny, but at himself.  
  
"No....it was.....okay, I guess...." Jenny felt her cheeks turn blue with embarrassment. "It's just....what was it for?"  
  
Brad sighed. "A kiss is what you give someone when you really like them....even love them.....And, I guess I just like you a lot, that's all...." Brad's cheeks felt like they were on fire.  
  
Jenny said nothing. Brad....LOVED her??  
  
"Do all humans do that when they love someone? My mom never did it to me...." Jenny trailed off, still thinking of what her mother had said.  
  
"Well....I don't love you like your mom does, Jenny....I love you in a different way...." Brad couldn't believe he was trying to explain love to Jenny. There were no words to describe it.  
  
"Oh....well....um....what do we do now?" Jenny asked. She felt stupid, asking a question like that.  
  
"Um....sometimes, if the two people like each other a lot, they get married, like my parents did," said Brad quietly.  
  
"Oh..." said Jenny in a small voice. "Well.....do we do anything before that?"  
  
"Um....yeah, if two people want to, they go out," said Brad.  
  
"What's going out?" asked Jenny.  
  
Brad sighed exhaustedly. "Going out is when...." Brad's eyes misted over and he thought about him and Jenny going out. "It's when you take the person you love to a restaurant or a beach or even come to visit them....basically, it's when the two people spend almost all their time with one another. Then, the guy is the girl's boyfriend and the girl is the guy's girlfriend."  
  
"Okay....so....you kissed me, so...do I have to do it back? And if I do, how would I do it?" Jenny asked quietly.  
  
Brad smiled. "Well, you put your lips together, like what I did in school, and you just close your eyes and hold each other. You can do it back if you want, you don't have to." Brad looked at the ground. What if Jenny didn't like him? What if she didn't want to kiss him back?  
  
Jenny felt strange. "Is a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship anything like being friends?" Jenny asked.  
  
"Kind of.....except it's better," he said quietly.  
  
"Okay then..." Jenny said, making a decision. She turned to Brad, and, feeling a little strange, wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. She closed her eyes and Brad wrapped his arms around her waist. 'This is pretty cool,' Jenny thought. She found that she liked being close to Brad, and the kiss wasn't half bad, either.  
  
After a few seconds, Brad pulled away and looked at Jenny. "Did I do it right?" Jenny asked nervously.  
  
"Perfect," said Brad, grinning partially with embarrassment.  
  
For a while, they just stood there holding each other and looking at the sky as the sun rose (mostly because Jenny didn't know what else to do) and watching the day begin.  
  
"Jenny?" Brad asked without looking at her.  
  
"Yeah, Brad?"  
  
"Will you go out with me and can we be more than just friends?"  
  
Jenny smiled. Brad had made her forget about her feud with Mrs. Wakeman. Brad made her happy. And Jenny wanted to spend almost all of her time with Brad.  
  
"Sure."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ There you go, Chapter One!  
  
Roses are red,  
  
Violets are blue,  
  
If you want more chapters, Please review!!  
  
Thankies!  
  
~*~Maria H. Takino~*~ 


End file.
